


Together, We're Works of Art

by Mask



Category: The Tempest Series - T. D. Cloud
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Photographer, Bathtubs, Japan, M/M, Nervousness, Seduction, Water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 04:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11913444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mask/pseuds/Mask
Summary: Corbet is truly one of a kind. He's like no one Ruari has ever met before. His beauty is effortless; his confidence is nonchalant and striking. He's the "faceless idol" to many. To Ruari, he's a divine muse. Utterly and truly.





	Together, We're Works of Art

Ruari’s hands were trembling.

It was strange because it wasn’t as if this was his first shoot. It wasn’t even his _hundredth_ shoot— far from it! He had taken tens of hundreds of photos over the years and all of them with numerous people— some famous, some regular, some toeing that unstable line between infamy and anonymity. And it wasn’t as if Ruari was _bragging_ either. If anything, he felt honoured to have had so many opportunities. These people gave him depth and understanding. They gave him proof of his creative merit and progress. They were proof, if anything, of why he shouldn’t be nervous now. Because of his experience with so many muses from so many different walks of life, this one shouldn’t be any different.

But he was. By leaps and bounds. Ruari could confidently say that he never met anyone quite like Corbet.

Corbet was—god, how could Ruari even describe him? Well, first thing’s first, he was an entertainer… of a kind. He made videos online on a _very_ popular platform, but he never showed his face. Instead, he flaunted his body in a variety of unexpectedly cute outfits. They ranged from uniforms to nightwear to all sorts of delightful outfits outside and inbetween. But… Corbet specialised in lingerie. It was erotic in a way that wasn’t explicit.

All things considered, he and Ruari were in mostly different circles. Even still, Ruari managed to stumble across Corbet’s videos… somehow. Usually, he had a pretty good memory as to how he found people, but this time was a bit of a mystery. He liked the content though, probably not entirely for the same reasons a lot of Corbet’s viewers did. Ruari liked Corbet’s sense of style and his visual presentation. He liked how something so simplistic could be delivered with such high impact. Ruari quickly became an avid watcher. Of course, a large part of the fun was shifting through Corbet’s comment sections and being the only person to leave a casual, almost conversational comment.

From there, well, things escalated between him and Corbet. Corbet reached out to him first, and over time, Ruari had the pleasure of knowing the identity of the “faceless idol”. Time flew around them of teasing and creating concepts and flirting, and all of that —all of that!— left Ruari here outside of a convenience store. Waiting. Nervously.

He couldn’t remember feeling this way. Ever. In an odd way though, he kind of liked it.

Ruari reached for the camera straps draped around his neck. For the dozenth time, he ran his fingers along the nylon texture. By now, the coarse touch had been engraved into his mind. He knew that the left strap had a small notch somewhere just above where the camera was hitched. He curled his thumb around the strap, letting the material scratch along the bend of his hand between his thumb and index finger.

He looked over to his left towards the convenience store. Corbet was still inside. Ah— actually, from here, Ruari could see that Corbet was approaching the register with some items in his hand. Ruari looked away towards the Shinjuku traffic. People passed him by, giving him curious looks, flicking their gaze up to his wild red hair, taking in just the general state of him. He wondered if they could sense his anxiousness. He laughed gently and focused on his camera.

He twiddled with the settings for a bit. It was enough to keep his mind off of what was surely to come. He kept lifting the DSLR camera up to his face and took test shots of the scenery. One picture caught his attention in particular.

The sun was hidden behind one of the buildings, which seemed to glow ominously. The sunrays reached around the structure and shone brilliantly. In Ruari’s photo, there was a bit of lens flare that made the building look even more divine. There was a peek of the foot and vehicular traffic just at the bottom of the frame. To Ruari, it looked like a dark, bumpy sea in which the building was perched. He nodded his head slowly. He’d probably make that his head on his Mixi page for a while.

He snapped another photo, again to test the settings, and when he drew the camera down to look at the photo, he felt something cold press to his cheek. Ruari gasped deeply and nearly jumped out of his skin! He drew the camera close to his chest with his right hand; his left went up to his cheek defensively. When he looked over at the assailant, he just saw Corbet standing there smirking at him.

      “You were zoned out,” Corbet said plainly. He turned his hand and held the drink palm up towards Ruari in offering. “You didn’t even hear me, did you?”

      “I…” Ruari looked to the bottle and then to Corbet. For a moment, he was lost in the picture this scene made. He moved his hand from his cheek and held up his finger. “Stay like that.”

      Corbet’s brows knit together, and he made a face. “Wha…?”

      “Relax a little.” Ruari gave a winsome smile as he took a couple of steps back away from Corbet. “We might as well get some practice in before the shoot right?”

      Corbet held his position, but he rolled his eyes. “Okay.”

Ruari double glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was in his way. He stood about a yard away from Corbet and angled his camera. The photo he snapped was of Corbet staring directly at him with a slightly confused expression. Maybe he didn’t know how lovely he looked in all black with a dark brown bomber jacket. Maybe, but Ruari hoped to give him an idea.

      “One more,” he whispered as he stepped closer. The frame was from the middle of the bridge of Corbet’s nose down to his chest. The water bottle was barely in frame. The foot traffic milling around them served as out of focus detail for the background. Ruari snapped the photo.

When he was done, he looked to the LCD screen to review the photo he took. Corbet’s lips looked so pretty, so soft. His beauty was effortless. Ruari stroked his thumb along the right side of the camera, helping him resist the urge to stroke Corbet’s lips for himself.

      “Perfect,” he said softly. He looked to Corbet and smiled.

      “ _Take this_ ,” Corbet urged emphatically, wiggling his hand pointedly.

Ruari took the proffered bottle. His fingers brushed over the side over Corbet’s hand. It was a little damp from the condensation from the bottle; it was a little chilly too. In a way, he hoped the brief contact would be enough to stoke an ember of warmth.

Hm… That gave him an idea for a concept.

He pulled the bottle out of Corbet’s hand and tossed it up into the air. Now that his hand was free, Corbet pulled his phone and flipped it open. Ruari tucked his water bottle under his arm to fit the lens cap back into place. He made sure everything was set the way he had wanted before turning his camera off properly.

      “The train leaves in thirty minutes,” said Corbet.

Ruari looked back towards the ethereal building. For a moment, he was away with his thoughts. He absentmindedly reached for the water bottle still tucked under his arm. He nodded slowly.

      “Let’s go,” he said. His voice was distant, but the minute he looked back to Corbet, he was back in the moment.

      Corbet only watched him and then sighed. “Are you always so spacey?” he asked as he began towards and then pushed past Ruari.

      Ruari only laughed. “My mind’s somewhere else it seems. So many opportunities for good photos. I guess that’s a great sign for today.”

 

 

While they waited at the station, Ruari rummaged through his bag to make sure that he had all his supplies. He so very rarely changed his routine, so everything was as it should be. On the train, he and Corbet just talked a bit. They got to know each other a little better. Ruari was sitting while Corbet remained standing in front of him.

Corbet had a hand wrapped around the pole; the other was shoved in his pocket. His head was tilted down towards the ground. He looked right for the setting and yet so oddly out of place. Maybe it was the way he held himself or maybe it was just the awareness of their foreign statuses that made Ruari think that. Regardless, Ruari resisted the urge to take another photo. Maybe they could come back later at night when the traffic was thinner. He had a few ideas anyway.

On the whole, the train ride wasn’t very long, at least not to Ruari. When their station was announced, he grabbed his camera bag and stood up immediately. Corbet startled a bit at his enthusiasm.

      “You’re really into this, aren’t you?”

Ruari only smiled in reply. He stared through the window and towards the station platform on the other side. This was it. His hands were shaking again. He was excited—so, so excited.

This, he was familiar with.

      “You do know where we’re going, right?” Corbet asked once they were out of the station. He walked backwards down the road, carefully watching Ruari. They were walking in the bike lane together. To Ruari’s left —Corbet’s right— there was a floodplain. Just a long expanse of wet grass with a building far, far in the distance. It was probably a few miles down the road they were on now. Ruari flirted with the idea of visiting it once they were done.

      “I do,” he said to Corbet, still keeping his eye on that small, featureless building. “I’ve been here a few times before. More than a few times actually.” He focused on the dark haired model in front of him. “I’ve only driven here twice, and that’s where I get lost honestly.”

      Corbet hummed sharply. He spun around fluidly and continued down the way. “Good thing we took the train then.”

Ruari stared at Corbet’s back as he walked. He moved so confidently and yet so nonchalantly. Ruari could tell that Corbet had that “Who gives a care?” attitude, but he seemed so comfortable in his own skin. His footing was sure. He swayed a little with every step. He could be humming a song in his head, and Ruari wouldn’t even be surprised. He tugged the camera bag’s strap higher up on his shoulder and sighed through his nose.

He knew this was going to be perfect.

The landscape was quite around them. There was the occasional flap of bird wings, the more frequent chorus of amphibious somethings off in the floodplain. They crossed the street at the T intersection and walked down the perpendicular road past the row of tall apartment buildings. It was a back alley. Corbet just looked around curiously. He didn’t ask where they were going. His trust was… comforting in a way. Did he always just throw himself into the hands of strangers like this?

Ruari grimaced and refocused straight ahead. No, he wouldn’t ask that. That was weird.

After another ten minutes of walking, Ruari perked up and then jogged towards a white building with a grey wooden fence beside it.  The fence was taller than he was, and the lock was secured in place.

      “Ah, we made it!” he said.

Corbet moved with lazy strides up to Ruari’s side. Ruari lowered his camera back down to the floor.

      “So, how are we getting in?”

Ruari pressed his shoulder against the far right of the fence where it met with the building. He grunted softly as he pushed the plank out of place.

      “Just… ah. Give me a second.”

With a tightened expression, Ruari shoved forward, and there was a soft cracking noise. He drew away and reached in behind the plank. He grabbed the small ring of keys from behind the board. He chanced a glance over to Corbet, who only raised his brows up in surprise. Ruari smirked before flipping to the key he needed for the small padlock.

When it snapped open, Ruari pressed his foot down against the bottom of the board he unhinged. He forced it back into place. It slid back into place with an aggressive groan. He took a step back and reached down for his bag.

      “Some associates and I come here for our shoots. It’s technically off limits because it’s vacant property.” He looked up towards the building. “But it’s really nice inside. We do our best to keep it tidy.”

      “So…” Corbet started. Ruari walked towards the fence and slid out the padlock. He didn’t bother to look over his shoulder as he pulled open the fence. “What kind of place is this?”

      “It was a bakery back in the day,” Ruari said. “And then it was sold out to a niche café before it was converted into a bakery again.”

      “Any idea what happened to it?” Corbet asked as he stepped through.

      “No. I haven’t asked any of the neighbours around here. Truth be told—” Ruari followed after and then closed the fence behind them. “—I don’t want to ruin any of the mystery.”

Corbet laughed gently as he turned back towards Ruari. The stone pathway was slightly overgrown with grass. The inner section of the fence just behind Corbet had a new discoloured patch. Ruari stepped closer and rubbed his fingers over the patch. The wood was incredibly smooth there. He pressed his lips together but soon figured that he’d ask the others about it later.

He adjusted the strap on his shoulder and took the lead in front of Corbet. They walked along the side of the building until the path opened out into the front yard of the building. The fence went all the way around, blocking their view of the street and vice versa. There was a round table off to the left corner. One of the chairs set in front of it. There were two similar chairs turned on their sides near the small set of stone steps leading up to the patio.

Ruari only pouted his lips curiously at the sight.

      Corbet spoke for him, “Wonder what went on here.”

      Ruari laughed before shrugging. “‘m not entirely sure myself.”

He hopped the stairs to the patio. Corbet followed suit behind him. Finally, they made it to the door just at the far end. This entryway was a bit different from the rest of the building. A flight of stairs was immediately visible through the glass door; there was a narrow walking space beside the stairs that led into a small, shadowed area. Ruari flipped through the keys again before finding one that opened the side door.

      “You sure you don’t live here?” Corbet teased as they entered. He closed the door behind him. “You seem awfully comfortable.”

      “Can’t wait for you to meet my roommate Absolute Silence.”

Ruari looked over his shoulder and saw Corbet smile at him. His stomach flipped.

      “Doesn’t sound too bad,” Corbet said gently. He pulled his other hand out of his pocket and placed his hands against Ruari’s back. “Alright, enough suspense! Let’s go already.”

Ruari laughed and walked up the stairs with Corbet at his back. He swore he could feel Corbet’s palms burning holes through his shirts. He licked his lips as they climbed the stairs. The top area was, as Ruari promised, absolutely quiet. The floor was made with a light grey hardwood. The walls and countertops were all painted white. To the left of the stairs, there was an open square area. The intersecting wall had three rectangular windows while the wall facing the stairs had four. There was a closed door in the right corner, almost completely out of view if it wasn’t for the doorknob. To the right of the stairs was a much larger open space. It had wall length window that looked out towards the road and the rest of the neighbourhood. All things considered, the view wasn’t very impressive. Or at least it was to the untrained eye.

The only two items that stuck out in the room was a bathtub and a chair like the ones outside.

      “Did you put the tub here before we planned this?” Corbet asked as he reached up to take off his bomber jacket.

      Ruari laughed. “No.” He walked over to the chair and set down his camera back. It was time to get into the moment. “I guess one of the others must have used it before me. I guess it works out, huh?”

Corbet hummed. He draped his jacket over the back of the chair. Ruari pulled the neck strap over his head and gently set his camera down on top of his bag. Afterward, he began rolling up his sleeves.

      “I guess I’ll go fill it up,” he said as he walked away. He looked back towards Corbet.

Their shoot required Corbet to get wet, and what he was wearing right now wasn’t too bad. Now that the bomber jacket was off, Corbet was just a silhouette of black. Black shirt, black hair, black pants, and black high tops. Smatterings of darkness against a pale canvas. Ruari gave the shorter male a once over. It would require a bit of creativity on his part, but he would be able to make the shoot pay off in the long run.

He mentally ran down his inventory list, double checking if he brought a towel with him.

He walked over to the kitchen area and pulled out a bucket from the cabinet under the sink. He stood up straight with a sigh through his nose. As he flicked on the tap, he heard Corbet make a noise of surprise.

      “Seriously?” he asked.

The laugh made Ruari smile warmly. He lifted his head to look towards Corbet, who was standing in front of the window, barely turned towards Ruari. Damn, why was his camera so far away.

      “What’s with this group of yours?”

      “We just pay for what we need when we need it,” Ruari said as if that was much of an answer.

      “That doesn’t answer anything.”

Ruari chuckled and looked back to the water. When the bucket was full, he pulled it away and went over to the tub. He looked inside. There was a stopper there, but… He reached down to smooth his fingers over it. Ah. The tub was permanently stoppered. Good; it would be a right mess if water just got all over the place. After a couple of testing scrapes with his fingernails, Ruari pulled back and began dumping water into the tub.

There was, of course, the problem of trying to guess how he would get the water _out_ of the tub, but he saved that thought for later.

When the bucket was emptied, Ruari doubled back to refill it. Every now and again, he’d steal glances up to Corbet, who went back and forth between watching him and staring out the window. They struck up conversation after a long stretch of silence. It was so nice listening to Corbet talk. The way he formed his words, his mannerisms when he spoke, the tone he took and the minute ways it changed… Ruari smiled to himself as he listened.

How was he so lucky to have this muse?

      “Okay, last bucket,” he said. He pulled the bucket out and switched off the tap. “And we still have daylight to…” He walked around the counter, looked up, and stopped.

Corbet wasn’t wearing the black clothes anymore. In fact, they were thrown over the back of the chair on top of his bomber jacket. Corbet was standing in a new attire entirely. He wore that underneath his clothes? Ruari laughed—amused, surprised, enamored! Corbet turned to him. Backlit by the sun, he looked truly like something divine coming to visit. He was ephemeral, and Ruari couldn’t wait to capture him on camera.

      “What?” Corbet smirked. He knew what he was doing.

      “I’m just surprised.” Ruari moved closer and dumped the last of the water into the tub. He walked backwards, unable to take his eyes off Corbet. When he was next to the counter again, he reached down and set the bucket on the floor. He nudged it out of the way with his foot, so it wouldn’t be in the shots later. “Have you been wearing that the whole time?”

      “It was a little warm,” Corbet said nonchalantly. He looked up to the ceiling and gently fanned himself with both hands. He smirked again. “But yeah. Like it?”

Of course Ruari did. It was as simple as the black outfit. Corbet had on a white button down shirt with cobalt blue shorts that stopped at his thighs. His legs were clad in white socks with black garters secured just under his knees.

Corbet steepled his fingers together. His weight shifted to the right; his left leg was propped up on the balls of his foot. The sunlight highlighted the black curls of his hair. But the best part of this image that Ruari knew he would treasure long into his life was the cunning smile that Corbet gave him. He was so clever, this new, beautiful muse of Ruari’s. So, so clever and equally as beautiful.

      “Yeah,” Ruari said in a breath. He walked forward. He felt as if he was walking on air. He came to the tub and placed his hands on the lip of it. He took a step back as he lowered himself down. He flashed Corbet a smile. “You look amazing.”

Corbet blushed and turned his head away with a forward cock of his right shoulder. He laughed gently before shrugging up shoulder higher. He touched his cheek to it. After a moment, he looked to Ruari with a slow, content blink.

      “Guess we should start shooting then.”

Ruari could hardly find the words, but he did manage to nod in response. God, Corbet…

He was absolutely breathtaking.

  


Getting into the zone wasn’t a difficult matter at all. They switched positions, and Corbet took a moment to center himself. Ruari recalibrated his settings and went over the concept with Corbet one last time.

      “But you have creative control, of course,” he said as he aimed his camera at the ceiling and then down to the floor towards his shadow. Good, the camera’s lighting adjusted appropriately. He glanced over to his camera bag one last time. He was sure he didn’t need anything. He took in a breath and fell into a new, creative mindset.

Corbet started on the outside of the tub. He leaned against it and posed prettily. He raised a leg, so that his right ankle was touching against the side of his left knee. His posture shifted with the new position. He had a beautiful S-curve that Ruari photographed thrice from different angles. Corbet lowered his leg slightly and turned his head to the left. Ruari stepped back and took three more photos. All of them were dead on. He stopped suddenly at one point, realising he had a shot with Corbet’s face in it. He quickly deleted it before taking a picture to make up for the loss.

Afterward, Ruari looked to the LCD screen. His mind was already several steps ahead as far as where to go next. He motioned towards the tub; Corbet followed the silent command with equal care. He sat down on the outer edge of the tub and then swung around. He dipped both feet into the water, and Ruari watched as the French model’s socks started to cling to his pale skin. Corbet reached his right leg out and touched his toes to the other side of the tub. Ruari slid closer, lowering down to one knee as he took the new photos.

Corbet’s legs looked as if they were made of porcelain. The wet socks held him close in a way that Ruari very much wished to. After a nod from Ruari, Corbet slid down into the water. He sucked in a water as he braced himself for the further wet cling of his clothing.

Ruari took pictures along the way. The transition of Corbet going from dry to wet was a silent picture of the most sensual kind. Ruari pulled back to delete a couple of unsatisfactory photos and licked his dry lips. He looked to Corbet, who reclined in the tub. He wasn’t posing on purpose; he was merely waiting, and Ruari was hard pressed to look away.

When he found the will to, he glanced away from Corbet’s face. He focused on the wet button up shirt instead. The thin cotton shirt didn’t stand a chance. It was soaked through completely, and every little breath that Corbet took was so visible. Ruari bit down on his lip. He shook his head. He looked to his camera and then back to Corbet.

Corbet was watching him. The fingers of his left hand were threaded in his black hair. He didn’t look displeased that Ruari was staring at him. In fact, his expression was hard to read entirely. With that hooded gaze, he looked so sultry. The wet clothes only amplified that. Ruari grit his teeth to keep himself from making any noise, from groaning or keening or begging Corbet to share his beauty. He dropped back down to his knee and started taking photos again.

The slope of Corbet’s neck was tantalising.

The peek of skin through the now unbuttoned shirt was mind boggling.

The inviting way Corbet looked at the camera when it was positioned too high was dizzying.

They were there for an hour. Some shots had Corbet out of the water, bent over the tub as if he was about to get out. At one point, he placed his right knee on the edge of the tub and ran his fingers through his hair. Ruari shot the image from the back. Ah yes. This was the true impact of the “faceless idol”. Ruari could see it now. He could feel it full force.

Something needy and aching took over him. He felt it in his accelerated pulse, but it fueled his every moment. Every snap of his camera was a love letter to his dark haired muse. Corbet scooped up water with both hands and poured it over his head. He looked over his shoulder to Ruari, mouth slightly opened, breath held, eyes hooded.

The picture of domination, the very embodiment of sensuality.

Ruari never stopped using his camera. It was the best way to keep his mind and hands busy. Another twenty minutes passed, and Ruari sat at the edge of the tub. He showed Corbet the pictures he took thus far. They agreed and disagreed on which images looked best.

Regardless, Ruari was going to keep all of them. Every image saved was too precious now.

      Ruari focused his attention solely on the LCD screen. He began standing up as he said, “I guess we should g—”

His eyes widened as wet hands found his shoulders and slid down to his chest. Corbet crossed his arms over Ruari’s chest and brought his lips to the photographer’s ear.

      “Take a photo with me,” he whispered.

Ruari could feel Corbet’s wet front against his back. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

      “Give me a sec,” Ruari said hoarsely. A pang of want surged through him when Corbet smiled against his ear.

Corbet drew away, retreating like a nymph into the water, and Ruari headed over to his camera. He didn’t have his tall camera stand with him, but the medium sized one he did carry would do just nicely. He moved his camera bag to the floor before adjusting the tripod on the chair. Ruari’s hands were trembling again, and he worked at double the speed he ordinarily would have.

He had pull the LCD screen out and flip it around to properly adjust the zoom. He could see in the screen that Corbet was playfully posing and making faces behind him. Ruari laughed. That didn’t calm the adrenaline pulsing through his body. Was he nervous or excited? With Corbet around, it was hard to tell anymore. He reached into the bag once more and took out a Bluetooth camera remote.

      “Is this waterproof?” he asked himself before moving to the tub and shoving his fist into the water.

      Corbet gasped slightly and drew his legs up towards his chest. “Ruari, you idiot! What if it breaks?”

      “I mean. I have another one,” Ruari said flippantly. “They’re not that expensive. They’re only three thousand yen or something.”

      “ _Only_ three thousand,” Corbet replied with a hard roll of his eyes. “Don’t be stupid. Don’t waste money like that.”

Ruari looked over to his camera and pressed flicked the switch to ON. A small icon popped up on the right side. He pressed down on the button. The LCD flickered black and then showed up with the still image Ruari just took. He looked back to Corbet and grinned.

      “Looks like it worked.”

      “Lucky.” Corbet moved forward and came dangerously close to Ruari’s face.

Ruari felt himself heat up. He thought to say something, but nothing came to mind. Corbet glanced over to the camera. Ruari couldn’t do the same.

      “Take the picture,” Corbet whispered.

Ruari pressed the button. He wasn’t sure what image they made together, but he would see it later. Right now, he trusted his muse. He trusted Corbet’s vision to bring beauty into the world. Corbet looked back to Ruari and then coaxed him into the water.

Ruari moved without hesitation, bending over the tub with one knee up on the side. Corbet took the clicker away from him before pressing down on the button himself. Ruari felt his heart skip a beat when Corbet took control. Corbet smiled up at him, bright and beautiful. It was so hard to believe he was real.

Hard to believe, but that’s what made his camera so valuable. When it was all said and done, he would show the world his muse and revel in the fact that, together, they were unprecedented, magnificent, heaven crafted works of art.


End file.
